That actually wasn't my response to begin with. It was your response about game design, and that won't happen in the game. Which is you the person behind the computers response. When if you look through your characters eyes then what I posted and you discounted could very well happen. I gathered you wanted a response to you the person behind the comp on why you should play the evil side. rather then why your character would want to be evil, and do the evil things.
The responses are totally different you the player already know the outcome, you win, so therefore what you do really doesn't matter.
You the character unless 'stupid evil' would be looking towards the future, as well as the present. After all by time you hit the grove you've found 3 alternatives. Priestess Guts who maybe able to help you, if not rid you of this tadpole can teach you to control it, thus increasing your personal power. Rapheal or whatever the cambions name is who can aid you and possibly grant you additional boons for additional cost of your soul. your not really using it, and power is power the more you have the less likely someone can kill you. Then theres the creche which according to La'eazal will be a sure fire thing. At the grove itself Halsin may or may not be dead, but your character would be able to suss out that he is good, therefore is a threat or potential threat, and if you aid him he'll have the backing of his grove as well.
Again this is all dependant on how your viewing everything. as a gamer, or as your character.
some rewards are not monetary, but instead based upon personal satisfaction, or future plans.
The problem with the priestess Gut route is that firstly, it seems quite easy to never hear about her, at least that was the case in my playthrough. Second is that you're never given a reason to think that the cult of the Absolute is anything more than a Mindflayer trap, and this is the important part. You're given no indication that they can actually help you in any real way and it's an unwise risk because you're risking the possibility that they can give you more power if you're right against the certainty of a fate worse than death if you're wrong. They need to be far more clear about what The Absolute can give you and that it's a viable way to deal with the tadpole, one that's not just a mindflayer trap, because at this point I recieved no evidence at all that it wasn't mindflayer manipulation.
Raphael is a risky proposition but one that I think a certain type of evil character would go for. It's risky, but someone confident they could play their cards right might take it.
Then with Halsin the problem with your thoughts here is that why would the PC feel the need to take Halsin into their future calculations? They don't actually live in the area, they're from Baldurs gate or potentially the Underdark. Either way wherever they're from it's far enough that Halsin's never heard of them and they've never heard of him. Presumably once they deal with the tadpole an evil character would be going back home where unless they're planning to like, take over the area, they would never have to be concerned with Halsin again. So Halsin is still a viable, reasonable option.
And then of course there's the Creche, which at first blush is the most obvious option for an evil character. They have a Githyanki in their party that can give them access to a creche and a means of healing themselves. She's the person with the most actual knowledge about Mindflayers currently in the party and her route is the most simple and direct one. By rights most evil characters shouldn't want to get involved with the goblins and druids at all because they call for a lot more runarounds and extra effort.
